Hull KR v Leeds Rhinos: Ex-Robin James Donaldson out to rule roost on first return

Donaldson spent four years at Hull KR, scoring 10 tries in 77 appearances, but was not offered a new contract at the end of last season.

That was a shock to the 27-year-old Cumbrian and left him out of work until Rhinos stepped in to offer him a trial.

He impressed enough to earn a full-time contract and has missed only two of Leeds’ nine games this season.

This evening will be the first time he has faced his former team-mates and he sees it as more than just another game.

“I want to put a good performance in every week, but more so this week,” he admitted.

“I am really excited about going back there and seeing my friends and playing back in Hull against my old team-mates. I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Donaldson insisted he has no hard feelings towards Rovers’ management, but he would like to show them what they are missing.

“There was a bit of disappointment because they did say they were going to give me a contract and then, in the end, they said they weren’t,” he confirmed.

“The way they went about it wasn’t great, but I am happy with what has happened now and I have moved on. I am really happy to be here and playing my rugby at Leeds.”

It has not been the start to the campaign anybody at Rhinos wanted or expected, but Donaldson has no regrets. He added: “It is good just to experience what it is like to be at a club like this.

“You get looked after so well, the staff are awesome, the facilities are awesome and I am really enjoying my time here.”

As much as it means to Donaldson personally, this evening’s match is more about the team and building on last week’s win over Castleford Tigers.

Rhinos are bottom of Betfred Super League, but will leapfrog Hull KR on points difference if they come away from East Yorkshire with a win.

Hull KR’s squad includes six ex-Leeds players and two of them, Danny McGuire and Robbie Mulhern, are set to return from injury. That adds a bit of extra spice to what Donaldson described as a “massive game”.

He said: “Every game is massive, but more so this week.

“We are definitely excited about the challenge and getting a bit of confidence back in ourselves after getting that win at the end last week.

“Hull KR are playing some good rugby as well.

“They have got some good players and they have recruited well.

“They are well coached and they have a lot of trick plays up their sleeve so it’s a case of expect anything.

“The fans are awesome over there and definitely make it a tough place to go. They are loud and they do let their voice be heard.

“They have had a tough run the last few games, but they will have a few players back in the mix and I’m looking forward to going up against them as well.”

Rhinos have not won back-to-back Super League games for a year, though they did beat top-flight rivals Widnes Vikings and Salford Red Devils in successive matches last September.

The victory against Castleford was only their second of the campaign and they failed to build on the previous success at Salford. Donaldson said: “We have been improving every week.

“We have been doing little bits in training and making sure we are heading in the right direction.

“I think we are doing that so it is definitely an opportunity to take another step forward this week.

“There’s a good feeling in the camp at the moment, the boys are feeling good and we are all buying into what Dave [Furner, Leeds’ coach] is trying to do.

“Hopefully that will show in our performances on the field.”

Leeds have led in all but one of their seven defeats and Donaldson put their failure to kick on from that down to “game management”.

He added: “It’s understanding how to close games out.

“We have spoken about that and we know what we’ve got to do this week to put that right.

“It is a bit of a mental thing, we have lost games at the back end a few times and it does play on your mind a bit.

“But you have got to be positive and try and build on what you’ve done in the first half to try and close the game out.”